INTRODUCING BALLOTS 2.0
Several months ago we introduced the Ballots feature to streamline big community votes and to fully incorporate the voting system into the forum software. As a proof of concept we deployed it for our Game of the Decade (2010-2019) awards vote and learned a lot from that experience. Although the vote was successful, we identified several bottlenecks that delayed the processing of the results. We also collected a lot of user feedback. By far the biggest complaint was that due to technical constraints, Ballots did not support the traditional ranked choice format that had been used in previous GOTY votes.
In past years our GOTY vote would normally have started sooner than this, but as it turns out we had good reason for the delay: Our tech team has been hard at work for months now trying to solve the ranked choice problem. We're pleased to announce that we have finally succeeded.
RANKED CHOICE VOTING
When you write in your vote, an autocomplete feature will suggest options that match, all of which are perfectly formatted for your convenience. Once you've selected an option you can add another game to your ballot, all the way up to the limit of ten. The order of your list will matter; titles at the top are awarded more points. To change the order of your list, you can conveniently drag and drop your entries.
Ranked choice voting is not the only problem we've solved with Ballots 2.0. We've also tackled an issue that has dogged us since the beginning of the site.
VOTING CATEGORIES
Ever since our very first GOTY vote for the year 2017, members have complained that the category awards for things like best game of each platform have not been reflective of actual user preferences. As an example, the award for "Best PC Game" would go to the game that had the most overall votes as long as it had a PC version, regardless of which version the voters actually played. This led to some multiplatform games winning in categories that many found baffling.
Measures have been taken to address this.
For the first time ever Ballots 2.0 will now delineate between different versions of the same game. When you input the title of a game, the autocomplete feature will present a list of every version of that game. You can now choose which version you want to nominate specifically, ensuring that a title will not win "Best PC Game" because its console versions are popular, or vice versa.
The system will now automatically tally the platform, the genre, and the developer associated with every entry on every ballot. This makes it a cinch to determine the winner of those respective categories.
HOW TO VOTE
Voting with Ballots 2.0 couldn't be easier. When the voting thread goes live, a button titled "Vote" will be available at the bottom left of the reply box. Simply press it to get started.
The autocomplete feature is powerful, but please keep in mind that it relies on correct and official spellings. For example, typing "eff" will bring up "Mass Effect" but "aff" will not. Typing "final" will bring up every game that includes that word anywhere in the title, but typing "Final Fantasy 7" will bring up nothing because it should be "Final Fantasy VII". If there are many possible matches, you will be able to scroll through them via a scroll bar on the right side.
Make sure that you always select autocomplete options to guarantee that your vote is formatted correctly and will be counted accurately. The system should recognize any game released in 2020, but if it is failing to recognize a game you're trying to nominate, please contact B-Dubs and/or Hecht.
The ResetEra Games of the Year 2020 Voting Thread will go live this Wednesday, January 27. Voting will be open until Monday, March 1st. Make your list and check it twice!
BONUS: THREAD TAGS UPDATE PREVIEW
In addition to the tireless work on Ballots 2.0, the tech team has been working on an update to the thread tags feature that we introduced last year. Based on the feedback we received from members, we're aiming to provide a cleaner, less distracting appearance, and also to make it more useful by offering the option to add multiple tags (with new options). This is still a work in progress, but we wanted to share a snapshot with you now.
Several months ago we introduced the Ballots feature to streamline big community votes and to fully incorporate the voting system into the forum software. As a proof of concept we deployed it for our Game of the Decade (2010-2019) awards vote and learned a lot from that experience. Although the vote was successful, we identified several bottlenecks that delayed the processing of the results. We also collected a lot of user feedback. By far the biggest complaint was that due to technical constraints, Ballots did not support the traditional ranked choice format that had been used in previous GOTY votes.
In past years our GOTY vote would normally have started sooner than this, but as it turns out we had good reason for the delay: Our tech team has been hard at work for months now trying to solve the ranked choice problem. We're pleased to announce that we have finally succeeded.
RANKED CHOICE VOTING
When you write in your vote, an autocomplete feature will suggest options that match, all of which are perfectly formatted for your convenience. Once you've selected an option you can add another game to your ballot, all the way up to the limit of ten. The order of your list will matter; titles at the top are awarded more points. To change the order of your list, you can conveniently drag and drop your entries.
Ranked choice voting is not the only problem we've solved with Ballots 2.0. We've also tackled an issue that has dogged us since the beginning of the site.
VOTING CATEGORIES
Ever since our very first GOTY vote for the year 2017, members have complained that the category awards for things like best game of each platform have not been reflective of actual user preferences. As an example, the award for "Best PC Game" would go to the game that had the most overall votes as long as it had a PC version, regardless of which version the voters actually played. This led to some multiplatform games winning in categories that many found baffling.
Measures have been taken to address this.
For the first time ever Ballots 2.0 will now delineate between different versions of the same game. When you input the title of a game, the autocomplete feature will present a list of every version of that game. You can now choose which version you want to nominate specifically, ensuring that a title will not win "Best PC Game" because its console versions are popular, or vice versa.
The system will now automatically tally the platform, the genre, and the developer associated with every entry on every ballot. This makes it a cinch to determine the winner of those respective categories.
HOW TO VOTE
Voting with Ballots 2.0 couldn't be easier. When the voting thread goes live, a button titled "Vote" will be available at the bottom left of the reply box. Simply press it to get started.
The autocomplete feature is powerful, but please keep in mind that it relies on correct and official spellings. For example, typing "eff" will bring up "Mass Effect" but "aff" will not. Typing "final" will bring up every game that includes that word anywhere in the title, but typing "Final Fantasy 7" will bring up nothing because it should be "Final Fantasy VII". If there are many possible matches, you will be able to scroll through them via a scroll bar on the right side.
Make sure that you always select autocomplete options to guarantee that your vote is formatted correctly and will be counted accurately. The system should recognize any game released in 2020, but if it is failing to recognize a game you're trying to nominate, please contact B-Dubs and/or Hecht.
The ResetEra Games of the Year 2020 Voting Thread will go live this Wednesday, January 27. Voting will be open until Monday, March 1st. Make your list and check it twice!
BONUS: THREAD TAGS UPDATE PREVIEW
In addition to the tireless work on Ballots 2.0, the tech team has been working on an update to the thread tags feature that we introduced last year. Based on the feedback we received from members, we're aiming to provide a cleaner, less distracting appearance, and also to make it more useful by offering the option to add multiple tags (with new options). This is still a work in progress, but we wanted to share a snapshot with you now.
